Almost a fifth of expectant mums in parts of the West Midlands continue to smoke right through their pregnancy, shocking new figures have revealed.

Statistics published today (June 18) by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) show that 18.2 per cent of expectant mums in Wolverhampton were smokers in the 12 months prior to March 2015.

The 161 pregnant smokers out of a total of 887 expectant mothers in the city were recorded by NHS staff in the 12 months prior to 2015.

The figure in Wolverhampton is almost double the average of one in ten across Birmingham and the Black Country, according to the NHS clinical commissioning groups (CCGs).

They found that 1,016 (11.4 per cent) of the 8,935 mums-to-be were smoking.

Pregnant women most unlikely to smoke were found living in the south and central parts of Birmingham, with just 52 (5.5 per cent) of the 943 recorded to be expecting a baby recorded as smokers at the time of giving birth.

The second highest rate of smoking mums-to-be was in Dudley, where 143 (15.9 per cent) of the 898 pregnant women were recorded as smokers.

In Walsall the picture was also bleak, with 130 (13.7 per cent) of those women who were pregnant admitting to NHS staff that they could not battle their addiction to nicotine.

NHS Birmingham Cross City recorded that 277 (10.7 per cent) of its 2,600 pregnant patients were smokers, while NHS Solihull revealed 66 (10.5 per cent) were still puffing on cigarettes.

And Sandwell and West Birmingham had 187 (9.2 per cent) of its 2,027 pregnant women recorded as smoking.

A HSCIC spokesman said the statistics in the report varied widely from region to region, but showed a general decline nationally in the number of women smoking while pregnant.

Dr Adrian Phillips

Dr Adrian Phillips, Director of Public Health Birmingham, said: “Deciding not to smoke is one of the best things you can do to give your baby a healthy start in life, so we’re pleased that the rate for smoking at the time of delivery is significantly lower in Birmingham than the national average.

“We work closely with the CCGs to monitor smoking during pregnancy and midwives are contracted to refer smokers into our Stop Smoking Service.

“Smokers who quit with the support of this service are four times more likely to succeed than those who try willpower alone.

“While Birmingham performs much better than the national average, there are variations across the city and we’re determined to further cut rates of smoking at the time of delivery.

“Women who stop smoking are far more likely to have a healthy pregnancy with fewer complications. There is a reduced risk of stillbirth and premature birth.”

Earlier this week Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust banned visitors, patients and staff from smoking in the grounds and car parks of all three of its Midland hospitals.

Smoking shelters have been ripped out of the grounds of the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch, Kidderminster Hospital, and Worcestershire Royal Hospital in Worcester.

Alexandra Hospital, Redditch

Mary Cornford-Hill, a stop smoking advisor at the Alexandra Hospital, said gone are the days that a pregnant woman – or any other person – will be seen puffing away on a cigarette outside the facility.

“It takes 12 weeks to overcome dependency on nicotine, so we want to offer support to people now,” she said. “With the help of an NHS stop smoking advisor, you are four times more likely to quit.”

Denise Harnin, director of human resources at the Trust, said anyone spotted smoking anywhere near the hospitals will be told to “stub it out”.

“Becoming a completely smoke free trust is something we have wanted to do for a while,” she said.

“Our patients are already in hospital because they are acutely ill and smoking is known to make a lot of these conditions even worse.

“Being faced with a crowd of smokers on your way into hospital isn’t a nice way to start your experience of the great care and services we provide.

“By banning smoking from our sites, patients and visitors will get to experience a more pleasant start to their treatment and recovery.”